Chicago man found guilty of 3 killings in 2011 outside Chatham bakery

Aaron Barnes, 21, faces life in prison for the fatal shootings of Chanda Thompson; her boyfriend, Shawn Russell; and their friend Cortez Champion, all 21.

Aaron Barnes, 21, faces life in prison for the fatal shootings of Chanda Thompson; her boyfriend, Shawn Russell; and their friend Cortez Champion, all 21. (Cook County Sheriff's Department)

Steve SchmadekeTribune reporter

Jurors deliberated a little more than an hour Tuesday afternoon before finding a Chicago man guilty of the 2011 slayings of three people outside a bakery in the Chatham neighborhood.

Aaron Barnes, 21, faces life in prison for the fatal shootings of Chanda Thompson; her boyfriend, Shawn Russell; and their friend Cortez Champion, all 21, a spokeswoman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office said.

Barnes was arrested in 2012 after prosecutors dropped murder charges in the case against Nicko Grayson, 17, whom authorities originally implicated in the shooting. New evidence, including witnesses who came forward, pointed to Barnes as the killer, authorities said at the time.

The shooting was retaliatory, authorities said.

Witnesses originally identified Grayson as the gunman from an array of photos, and he was then identified by witnesses in a police lineup. But prosecutors later dropped murder and unlawful vehicle-invasion charges against Grayson because he was falsely identified by witnesses, law enforcement sources have said.